HR1049 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1049 LRB097 21159 GRL 68643 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, In 1900, Charles "The Old Roman" Comiskey became involved in the birth and development of the American League; in January of 1900, Comiskey became the owner of the Chicago White Stockings and moved the franchise to Chicago to be a part of the newly formed League; and

WHEREAS, As the White Stockings, the team played the first-ever game of the American League on April 21, 1900; and

WHEREAS, The people of Chicago soon shortened the team's name to "White Sox"; the new name was accepted by the Comiskey family and eventually became the team's official name; and

WHEREAS, In 1910, Charles Comiskey oversaw the building of Comiskey Park, the home of the White Sox for more than 8 decades; Comiskey served as the owner of the team until his death in 1931; and

WHEREAS, J. Louis Comiskey, Charles' only child, inherited and owned the team until his death in 1939; ownership of the Chicago White Sox was then passed onto his wife, Grace; and

WHEREAS, Grace Comiskey served as the owner of the Chicago White Sox from 1939 to 1956; she was baseball's second female executive and the first in the American League; and

WHEREAS, Under the ownership of Grace Comiskey, the White Sox signed Minnie Minoso, the team's first African-American player, and Luis Aparicio, the league's first Hispanic American Rookie of the Year winner; and

WHEREAS, Grace Comiskey passed away in 1956, leaving the controlling share of the team to her first child, Dorothy Comiskey Rigney, the wife of former White Sox pitcher John Rigney; and

WHEREAS, Dorothy Comiskey Rigney, along with her mother, was a sports pioneer, being one of the few women to have served as principal owner of a Major League Baseball team; and

WHEREAS, After the 1958 season, Dorothy Comiskey Rigney sold the White Sox to Bill Veeck, ending the Comiskey family's 58-year control of the franchise; and

WHEREAS, John and Dorothy are the parents of Illinois State Representative Patti Bellock; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize the legacy of the Comiskey family and the family's contribution to the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we honor the history made by Grace and Dorothy Comiskey as two of the first women to have served as owners of a Major League Baseball team; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Illinois State Representative Patti Bellock as a symbol of our great esteem and respect.